Retirement

Planning for Retirement is best started early. But, sometimes best laid plans require nimbleness and mid-course correction

What Are I Bonds and Can They Protect Your Retirement Savings from Inflation?

If you’re currently retired or approaching retirement, you’d probably prefer to protect your savings from risky investments. However, investments considered “safe” also tend to offer dismal returns. When inflation kicks into high gear, it can quickly eat away at the value of your retirement savings. Is there any way you can get the best of …

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The Crucial and Life-Affirming Process of Estate Planning

Everyone who’ll be leaving this world needs an estate plan, and they probably need financial planning while they are here. Women in particular should pay attention to this crucial and life-affirming process. Regardless of marital status or net worth, women need to make decisions and arrangements today in order to protect themselves, their spouses and …

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How to Retire on Time for Female Freelancers, Entrepreneurs, and the Self-Employed

Women all across the country are starting their own business or joining the “gig economy” as freelance graphic designers, photographers, or even Uber drivers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, just over 10% of all U.S. workers are self-employed. Women make good entrepreneurs because they are able to juggle lots of tasks and respond to …

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Understanding Social Security Survivor Benefits After Divorce

Here at WIFE, we have written several articles about the huge Social Security benefits women can receive if they were married to their husbands for at least ten years before their divorce. When you reach retirement age, you are eligible to receive benefits equivalent to 50% of your ex-husband’s Social Security benefits if that amount …

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Five Questions You Need to Answer If You’re Thinking of Moving After You Retire

Many people decide to move when they retire to save money on living expenses, be closer to family, enjoy better weather, or to finally fulfill their dream of living in an exotic locale. But choosing where to live means more than deciding whether you prefer sand or trees. In fact, many people make their biggest retirement …

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Want to Protect Your Income in Retirement? It’s Time to Learn About Variable Annuities

When you think about your finances, what keeps you awake at night? For most women, it’s the fear they will outlive their money and become a “bag lady.” The transition from regular paychecks to full-blown retirement can be downright scary. With traditional pensions going the way of the Model T, and the Social Security platform …

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Should You Invest Your Retirement Savings in Indexed Mutual Funds?

When you invest in an actively managed mutual fund, you are investing in expertise. In exchange for an industry average yearly fee of 1.24% of the money you invest, you get a fund manager and a group of analysts who spend their days trying to pick the investments that will earn you the most money …

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What Do You Want Your Retirement to Look Like?

We all know the process. Estimate how much money you will need in retirement (which can range anywhere from 70% to over 100% of your pre-retirement income), determine your available income sources (like pensions and Social Security payments), and then calculate how much you will need to save annually so that you can retire on …

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What You Should Be Doing to Plan for Retirement – Your 60s and Beyond

Part Five in Our Retirement For a Lifetime Series When you blow out your candles on your 60th birthday, you will be tantalizingly close to the traditional retirement age – 65. Of course, traditions change, and many Americans are reaching this important milestone with big financial worries. According to the Federal Reserve, the median retirement …

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Married for More Than Ten Years? You Can Collect Social Security Benefits From Your Ex-Spouse!

If you were married to your ex-spouse for ten or more years, then you are eligible for very important Social Security benefits that could drastically increase how much Social Security you receive each month. Who doesn’t want a bigger Social Security check each month? No one, that’s right! So keep reading. Even if you are …

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Five Things You Probably Haven’t Done but Should to Integrate Your Retirement Accounts into Your Estate Plan

Your retirement accounts, including your 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), are likely to be your most significant assets along with your home. While you may think you’ll need every bit of money in those accounts for your retirement, what would happen if you die at an early age? Not fun to think about, …

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Three Things Women Need To Do Right Now To Protect Their Retirement

At WIFE.org, we don’t think retiring smart has to be complicated. A few good habits can make the difference between working a part-time job in retirement to make ends meet or spending more time with your grandchildren and taking a cruise each year. Here are three simple things you can start doing today to get …

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Why Women Need To Think Differently About Retirement

Ladies, we know that “one size doesn’t fit all,” and that is especially true when it comes to planning for retirement. When we look to the future and retirement, we can’t think like men. Let’s look at three unique challenges that force women to think differently about retirement: A Longer Retirement Congratulations! If you were …

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Choosing the Best Investments for Your 401(k)

To make choosing easier, begin by grouping the available funds. Stock funds include large-company stocks (including ”growth and income” funds), small-company stocks (including ”aggressive growth” funds) and international stocks. Bond funds are categorized by length of the bond — such as short-term, intermediate or long-term — and by the kind of bond, such as government, …

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401(k) Plans Explained

Gary Foreman is the publisher of The Dollar Stretcher.com. Hi Gary, My uncle is very upset because he doesn’t understand how his 401(k) works. He thinks they are trying to tell him what he can do with his retirement money and so forth. I don’t know how to explain the basic point behind a 401(k) …

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IRA Blunders

If you have been contributing to Individual Retirement Accounts over the years or have rolled a lump-sum pension distribution into an IRA, you have taken solid steps toward building a strong retirement nest egg. But three common blunders can keep you from getting the greatest income possible when you retire. Blunder #1. Too many IRA …

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It’s Never Too Early to Start Planning for Your Retirement

Trouble is, there’s always so much more in your life that requires time and money that it’s not always easy to devote those precious resources to a retirement that is years away. Here are five painless ways you can begin saving for your retirement without unduly busting your budget. 1. Let your employer do it. …

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I Can’t Believe I Forgot To Save For My Retirement!

Most people in their twenties and thirties have other things on their minds than retirement. But as we get older, we suddenly realize we have to save for retirement! If you’ve procrastinated in planning for retirement, you may not be as far behind as you think. Perhaps your employment benefits include a defined benefit retirement …

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